


Crack Houses aren't great for confessions.

by Captain_Paperswan



Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Genre: Boys Kissing, Domestic Discipline, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kissing, M/M, Romance, Spanking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:22:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28848252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Paperswan/pseuds/Captain_Paperswan
Summary: After being punished by his father, Johnny is feeling pretty rotten. Dally takes him somewhere cool he found in an attempt to cheer him up, leading to a confession, a fight, and trouble with Darry.
Relationships: Johnny Cade/Dallas Winston
Comments: 29
Kudos: 46





	1. Cracked Lips

**Author's Note:**

> HI HEY XD SORRY FOR VANISHING! I got covid and was pretty sick for a while but I'm better now! I wanna write more, so maybe leave some requests???? Anyways! In my last Johnny and Dally fic it was mentioned that they acted like a couple and so hey! lets have them be boyfriends! So yeah thats gonna be a thing going forward, they'll have to tell the gang and stuff (they'll be accepting don't worry!) 
> 
> The TWs for this chapter:  
> Talks about child abuse, and lots of crying

Lying heavy on his side, the trunk of an aging oak pressing into his back, Johnny tried to take his mind off his red, sore bottom. He’d been rather lucky, this time around, to only suffer being thrown across his father’s hard legs and paddled with the old man’s hand over his bare bottom; but he certainly did not  _ feel _ lucky in that moment. In fact, he’d rather have been tossed across his ratty bed to get a taste of the belt, as at least then he could cry his heart out into the moth-eaten pillow without the man taking notice. 

Johnny curled up against himself, hands rubbing his naked arms to get a bit of warmth, as he had not been able to grab his jacket on the way out the door. At least the daylight sun, filtering through the leaves overhanging the lot could warm him a bit in between gusts of cold spring wind. For a moment he considered walking over to lay across the sunbaked metal of the long-abandoned and rust-eaten car that rests in the bone-yard, but Johnny figured it was way too out in the open, and right now he would prefer not to be seen.

Realistically, he knew he could get up and limp over to the Curtis family’s house, which was only three blocks away from his current landing, and find a much more comfortable place to rest; maybe even talk to Darry about his plight and be given the man’s sympathy; lord knows that Darry cannot stand to hear about Johnny’s treatment at the hands of his father, and even though this punishment was not that much more severe than some of the spankings Darry has given Johnny himself; Darry knows full well that even hearing that dastardly man’s voice is enough to send cold chills down Johnny’s spine. But the trouble was, Johnny felt too angry to be around his friends at the moment.

Despite the tears that had only barely stopped rolling down his blushing cheeks, Johnny was  _ seething _ with rage. It boiled deep under the surface like lava beneath the earth’s crust, and he was smart enough to know that if he were to be around his likely far happier family then he’d only bring them down. So, Johnny did not go to seek out comfort, he just lay huddled by that aging oak waiting for his anger and pain to subside.

Until he heard a thud, followed by a string of curses in a familiar-sounding, thickly accented voice.

“Dally?” Johnny precariously called out into the direction of the road, and the response he got was a near-incomprehensible groan.  So, with a hiss of pain, Johnny forced himself to stand on two coltish legs to find his friend.

The source of the noise had been by the rotting car, whereupon further inspection, Dally must have tripped and bumped his head awfully hard, because the gangly boy looked incredibly disoriented where he stood, massaging a big blue bruise on his forehead.

“Fuckin’ mud, man,” he growled, kicking at the car with a worn cowboy boot. “Slipped me,” but the odd thing was, there was no mud on Dally’s boot, nor anywhere around the lot. In  fact, it had not rained in a good seven or eight days.

Johnny nodded his head, rolling his eyes at what must have been a quickly conjured lie to mask his clumsiness. “What are you doing over here, Dal? Thought you had a date with Sylvia.”

Dally’s expression turned from sour to just plain bitter, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, “Caught the bitch necking some boy from the River Kings,” he hissed out, the anger in his voice almost making Johnny wince. “Didn’t say nothin’ just... came here.”

That part struck Johnny as odd, when he’d mentioned the cheating, Johnny had expected the next words out of his friend’s mouth to be ‘I pummeled them both’ or something along those lines, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time Johnny had either seen or heard of Dally’s explosive temper leading him to attack somebody. It was even odder that Dally  apparently didn’t even say anything.

Johnny looked for what to say. “Ah shit, I’m... I’m awful sorry about that.” he knew that this had not been the first time Dally had been cheated on. 

Dally just shook his head, heaving a deep sigh. “Its... Whatever,” he said, then turned his gaze to Johnny. His eyes had a dark glow to them, their ice seeming to have melted a bit. “I couldn’t find you at Darry’s. Why aren’t you over there with the others?”

Johnny figured that question was coming, and he couldn’t really find it in himself to lie, but he did not want Dally to run over to his father’s in a fuming rage. “I just- I just wanted to be alone for a little while.” He said, not entirely lying.

Dally seemed to get even sadder at that. “Oh,” he said, looking away. “I can leave if you...”

Johnny shook his head rapidly. “No! No, I uh, I just didn’t  wanna bring everybody’s mood down.  Y’know ? If  it's just you, then I’d  kinda like company.” Johnny would have loved to see the way Dally’s eyes lit up a million times over again.

“Hell yeah,” Dally said, trying to play it cool, but Johnny could see the way his eyes twinkled. “Let's go hunt some action, just the two of us.” and Johnny could not help but perk up. He did love the company of the gang, but he did often like it to be just him and Dally.

Up above, the sky was beginning to darken as the day gave way to evening. And Johnny had no idea just where Dally was taking him.

They’d gone out to get lunch a little while before, and after they were done, Dally had looked to Johnny with a little wink and whispered “I  wanna take you somewhere, but you can’t go snitchin’, got it?” and Johnny, Dally’s best and most trusted friend, of course, agreed. He’d hate to lose the trust he’d earned after a long while of breaking down Dally’s barriers to know him better.

So now, Johnny followed Dally down a long and winding road that seemed to get more and more rickety the longer they walked. Until eventually they no longer tread on a street but instead were walking through the dense forest along a trail that was lightly trodden down by many feet over a long period of time, rather  than cleared out for the express purpose of walking down. 

Johnny pressed closer to Dally as sharp sticks from  low hanging branches scraped at his bare arms, and he began to wish he’d risked running back into his house for his jacket. Gooseflesh raised along his arms as a cool breeze whistled through the trees.

When Johnny gave an audible shudder, Dally turned around. “Ah shit, forgot you didn’t have a jacket,” he said, shucking off his own brown leather bomber jacket and draping it over Johnny’s shoulders like a  gentleman might a lady. 

“But won’t you get cold?” Johnny asked, pulling the jacket around himself a bit tighter, breathing in the scent of  cigarettes and horses. 

Dally shrugged; under the jacket, he had a long-sleeved black cotton shirt. “Nah, this thing’s pretty thick,” he replied coolly, wrapping an arm tight around Johnny’s waist and pulling him in closer. 

Johnny smiled, blushing a faint pink as he leaned his head against Dally’s shoulder. They walked like that for a while until they came across a tall, rotting structure in a clearing.

The trees had been long since cut down inside the clearing, but thick undergrowth had sprouted up around a decaying wooden barn-like structure. Johnny squinted, wrinkling his nose a bit at the distinctive smell of alcohol that wafted from the building as they approached. This must have been some sort of crack house.

Dally let Johnny go and stepped Infront of him, opening the half-busted oak door. “After you,” he said in an overly  chivalrous tone.

Johnny snorted, “My gentleman,” as he stepped  hesitantly inside, jumping a bit as the wooden floorboards  shrieked beneath his feet.

Johnny came in after him, closing the door, which made an even louder sound than the floorboards. “This, my dear, is an old crack house.” 

Johnny put his hands on his hips, looking around. There were tables set up around the decaying place, with worn chairs and couches, it clearly had been years since it’d been used for anything.

“Is it still in use?” Johnny asked, figuring it might still be a little active.

Dally shook his head. “Not for drugs, but it makes a good hideout from the cops if you’re on the run.” Dally started to stumble over his words, which was odd for him. “And  y’know ... lots of other things too- Hey  let's go sit down.” he suddenly started pushing Johnny towards the old chairs.

“ Ewwww .” Johnny wrinkled his nose a bit at how stained they were. “I think I could get  an STD just from sitting on that thing!” 

Dally snorted, “Okay princess, whatever you say.” he sat down anyway. “Since you don’t  wanna get aids or whatever, here.” Dally suddenly grabbed Johnny by the hips and pulled him to sit on his lap.

Johnny yelped at the sudden contact, which reignited the sting in his ass. Dally looked surprised.

“Shit! You okay?” he asked, but Johnny just gritted his teeth and nodded, staying on Dally’s lap despite the burning pain the boy’s bony thighs invoked as they pressed into his sore skin.

“You’re lying. your dad belt you again?” Dally hissed, 

“No! No, I’m fine!” Johnny insisted, just wanting Dally to drop the subject.

“ A’ight , well if you’re being honest then you’ll have no problem with me checking,  ey ?”

Johnny balked at that, feeling incredulous. “Absolutely NOT! I’m not  gonna let you take my pants down on the fucking cum couch!” 

Dally suddenly stood up, pulling Johnny to stand with him. “Fine, I won’t do it on the couch then,” he said with a tone of finality, then moved Johnny so that his chest was pressed up against the older boy’s arm, which was wrapped around him tight so that he could not escape.

Johnny groaned, just having to accept that Dally was stronger than him, and he’d probably have found out one way or the other.

With one smooth movement, Dally took down Johnny’s pants, which were too big for him anyway, and his underwear too. Johnny felt tears sting his eyes at the sheer humiliation.

“Shit.” was all Dally said, and hot tears rolled down Johnny’s face. 

“Are you happy!” He yelled, feeling sick to his stomach. 

Dally quickly pulled Johnny’s clothes up again and let him go, watching the boy angrily button his pants again. “I’m sorry,” Dally  muttered; Johnny expected him to be angry with him for lying.

“Whatever.” Johnny hissed, crossing his arms and looking away as tears rolled down his cheeks. He had no time to prepare for the older boy pulling him into a tight hug. 

Johnny couldn’t be angry anymore, and instead just leaned into the hug, closing his eyes and letting himself cry. Sniffling pitifully as Dally ran a hand through his hair. He started to lament the experience. “I-It wasn’t even that hard this  ti-ime . He only used his hand but it was just so...” Johnny struggled to find the words. “ _ Violating.  _ His hands on me- It made me  wanna take a shower in a church or something- He didn’t... You know... But I feel dirty...”

Dally nodded along to this, rubbing Johnny’s back warmly. “Yeah, I felt similar when I was a bit smaller and my old man could still man-handle me over his knee,” he said, trying to empathize with Johnny. “It just makes you feel helpless, especially when you fuckin’ hate the person doin’ it to you.”

Johnny had slowed his crying and was starting to calm down. “I never feel this way with Darry or- or  _ you _ . But he just... He makes me so sick I can barely stand it! I hate him I fucking hate him!” Johnny gripped Dally’s shirt hard and sobbed even more. Johnny’s father made him feel all the worst ways. He couldn’t even be in the same room with the man without feeling a sense of dread creep into his heart. Whenever the bastard touched  him, he wanted to flay off the skin that had been infected, he just wanted to be free of this.

They stay like that for a while until Johnny began to finally slow his sobs.

Dally was rocking Johnny gently, running his hands through the boy’s springy curls while humming a sweet tune. “I love your curls, Johnny,” Dally said softly. “I can’t see  em when you put all that grease in your hair.”

Johnny gave a little smile, pressing closer to Dally’s chest. “Maybe I’ll cut back on the grease a bit... Just a little,” he said finally starting to feel better now that he’d been able to cry out his hurt. 

Dally hugged him tighter, then suddenly pushed Johnny away and held him at an arm's length. Johnny looked up, puzzled, and then suddenly felt Dally’s cracked lips against his softer lips.

Johnny just stood  there frozen stiff as a rosy blush rose to his cheeks. Dallas Tucker Winston, the fucking scourge of Tulsa had just  _ kissed _ him on the lips!

** Before either could address what had just happened, the door creaked open. **


	2. It Ain't Loaded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs for this chapter:  
> Homophobic slurs, sexual language, violence, guns, and attempted strangulation

Dally’s heart sank down to his toes at the shriek of rusty hinges grinding together. The gentleness of Johnny’s plush lips was still fresh on his mind and all he wanted to do was smash his lips into Johnny’s again to taste the sweetness of euphoria. But of course, like all good things in Dally’s life, it had been cut short.

“Who fuckin’ knew,” Sneered a throaty voice, echoing throughout the decaying structure, “That my competition would be some homo.” 

Dally pulled away from Johnny, leaving the poor thing stunned silent, and jerked his head around to see who had just threatened him. When the voice and the face were made clear to him, his head suddenly burned.

There in front of him, leaning against the doorway with a smirk, was motherfuckin’ Ray Scott. He was as slinky and slimy as ever, muddy red hair slicked back, eyes small and suspicious. 

Dally’s lips curled into an animalistic snarl. He was the bastard he’d seen necking Sylvia. Oh shit, Sylvia. Dally felt stupid- in his time with Johnny he completely forgot that he’d literally been cheated on with this bastard only a few hours ago. But really thinking about it, he wasn’t angry that Sylvia was showing she didn’t care for him, he could never really bring himself to love her, he was angry that she’d betrayed his trust. But in a moment of reflection and rare maturity, Dally had decided not to pound on them when he caught it happening. He knew Johnny would have been upset with him for doing so... Funny, that boy really was starting to turn him soft.

“ Ain’t no competition,” Dally hissed back, slouching down like a panther stalking its prey and slinking closer to Ray, his hand hovering over the pocket that held his knife and his heater. The heater wasn’t loaded, last time he’d checked, but it could give a good bluff, but  really, he’d probably just whip out his knife instead. “You can have the sneaking bitch.”

Ray raised his thin orange eyebrows. “ _ Sneaking bitch _ ? When you brought some little fairy boy over here to fuck?” Ray snorted out a laugh. “You’re really so desperate to stick your dick in something you use the little faggot, huh.”

Ray turned his attention to Johnny, who was glaring fiercely, one hand hovering over his pocket. Dally wanted to say something to reassure Johnny that was not his intention at all, but Ray kept talking, stalking closer and closer as he jabbered on.

“He came after you so soon after finding his girl left you, seem at all suspicious?” Ray asked in a sickly-sweet voice, leaning into Johnny’s personal space, “You might as well be a hooker to him, only you’re so desperate for attention he didn’t even hafta pay.”

“Ray, leave him the fuck alone!” Dally barked, grabbing the man by the back of the jacket and hauling him away from a cringing Johnny. 

Johnny scowled. “If that’s the case, you’ll be the least of Dally’s problems,” he said in a rough tone, casting his dark gaze over to Dally and raising an eyebrow.

Dally wanted to punch himself in the face right now. Why didn’t he think of that? Of course, it would seem really bad! He hadn’t even intended on kissing Johnny, it just Kinda happened... “Ray, just go home. You have Sylvia, I don’t care. This isn’t any of your business.” 

Ray didn’t like that much. His eyes flashed angrily, and Dally could tell he’d stalked them across town for one thing and one thing only. “ Ain’t that simple, friend. Sylvia told me we’d have to settle this the  old-fashioned way if she was to be mine.”

Dally and Johnny both found themselves groaning in frustration at the same time. Fuckin’ traditions. Why couldn’t they just break up and move on and be done with it?

Johnny scoffed. “By that logic, I should be  headin ’ over to beat Sylvia in a fight.” 

Dally flushed at that. Did Johnny really want to be with him? Even if he was just throwing out hypotheticals. 

“Shut your trap, or I’ll shut it for you!” Ray snapped, glaring daggers into Johnny who didn’t even flinch.

“Alright. Come over here and do it.” Johnny replied with a little smirk. “I’d like to see you throw a single punch without shattering your bony-ass fist.” 

Before Dally could stop him, Ray had stormed over, whipping out his switchblade, and pulled Johnny  in front of him in a harsh restraint, the blade’s edge hovering dangerously close to the boy’s neck. 

“How about this, accept the fight or your boyfriend takes the heat.” Ray sneered, and Dally saw red. 

Johnny didn’t seem too phased by this, in fact, Dally could almost see the cogs turning in his head through the way his eyes darted about,  analyzing Ray’s grip and searching for an escape.

Dally considered pulling the heater out right then and there, but that was supposed to be a last resort. Pulling it too soon would cause Ray to catch his bluff. So instead, he whipped out his own blade and pointed it to Ray.

“Threatening somebody who  ain’t got nothing to do with the  feud is against the rules.” He hissed out. 

Ray sneered. “Since when have you ever cared about rules, Winston?” the wretch pressed the sharp end of the blade against Johnny’s skin, causing the boy to tense up, gritting his teeth. 

“Okay, fine!” Dally finally gave in. “Just- let him go.”

Ray obliged, releasing Johnny. Johnny immediately scrambled away, gasping out the breath he’d been holding. Dally swiftly pulled him close, examining the cut on his neck.

“Oh god, Johnny.” He whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Johnny just shook his head sadly, melting into the embrace. “I’m fine. Now you had a deal, I’ll be right here if anything goes wrong...”

Dally nodded, then, he had an idea.

“A deals’ a deal, Winston, get your ass over here!” Ray called.

“Give us a second, you nearly slit his fuckin’ throat!” Dally roared in reply, unable to keep the tremor from his voice. 

Dally then pulled Johnny even closer, whispering in his ear. “I’m going to give you my gun. If this goes  too far, pull it out.” 

Johnny stiffened. “Dally that’s- I can’t shoot him...”

“It  ain’t loaded,” Dally whispered in reply. “Just use it to bluff, he’s stupid as hell he’ll fall for it.” with that, Dally began to awkwardly maneuver the heater from his coat’s pocket and into the inner-pockets of Johnny’s jacket. Johnny just sighed, accepting this.

“Be careful,” he whispered as Dally drew back, pulling his jacket around himself tighter so that the weapon could not be seen.

“I will,” Dally promised, then turned to Ray.

“No weapons.” He announced. “Just skin-on-skin. Savvy?” 

Ray lifted his hands to show he had nothing. He was grinning like a hyena. “Got it.”

With that, Ray lunged at Dally.

The force of the man’s weight knocked him clean over, and they both rolled on the dusty floor, trying to get the upper hand.

Dally received a wicked blow to the face and felt blood stream from his nose. He desperately kicked and the other man, who was slightly bigger than him. Nothing worked. He was pinned, helplessly getting knocked around. 

But then, he noticed a floorboard sticking upward, and had an idea. Turning his face and  shielding it with an arm, he grabbed ahold of the board and used it to drag his body away from Ray, then was able to get to his feet. Ray snarled, running at him again, but Dally had the good sense to grab his arm and use the momentum to send the other man into the floor.

While Ray was still dazed, Dally slammed his boot hard into his back, forcing him down. 

Dally leaned down close and rasped. “Do you give up?”

Ray hissed in reply. “No!” Dally just kicked him upside the head once, wincing as he heard a soft gasp of fear from Johnny. Jesus, what was he doing?

Ray groaned in pain, trying and failing to push himself up. 

“It's over,” Dally growled. “I don’t give a shit, just go back to your girlfriend. This doesn’t matter.”

“You... You’ve lost your pride.” Ray snarled.

“Yeah, and you lost the fight,” Dally replied. But something about those words stung him. 

Ray gave a low chuckle deep from his chest that made Dally cringe. What was he up to? 

“No. Not yet I haven’t.” And suddenly, Dally felt something cold and hard whack him upside the head, sending him sprawling to the floor. He was seeing double, his head throbbing and the room spinning. 

“HEY!” Johnny’s voice roared from behind, and Dally got himself together enough to look up and see Ray looming over him with a fucking  _ chain _ . Bastard must have been hiding it in his coat.

There was a sudden yet familiar click that startled both of them into looking over to Johnny, who had the gun out and pointed right at Ray.

Ray immediately dropped the chain, which landed right on Dally and put both his hands up. “Woah  Woah _ Woah _ .  Let's not get crazy now, doll.”

“Do NOT call me doll!” Johnny snarled, gripped the gun so hard his knuckles turned white. “Go the fuck home!”

Ray smirked coldly. “Oh.  Oh, I see what this is.” He then picked up the chain again and to Dally’s horror, began to wrap it around his throat. He was stuck, too dizzy to move. All he could do was scream out Johnny’s name.

And with an earsplitting noise, the gun fired. 

It missed Ray, but the unexpected bullet flew past him and crashed into the wooden beam ahead, smoke trailing from the little bullet.

Nobody had expected this, in fact, they  _ all  _ thought the gun had been empty. Johnny’s voice trembled as he spoke. “Y-Your head will be next! Get out of here!” 

Ray, knowing for once what was good for him, unwrapped the chain, pocketed it, and ran out the door. No doubt to tell Sylvia that he ‘technically won’ and Winston had ‘cheated.’ Not like Dally cared enough to set the record straight. 

Johnny dropped the  gun; his eyes were filled with big globby tears and his knees trembled. Dally got up and dizzily ran to him, wrapping the boy up in his arms and squeezing him tight.

“I-I thought you were going to die!” Johnny sobbed. Tears staining Dally’s jacket. “I- I didn’t know it was loaded, I was just scared!”

“Hey... Hey  shhh , I know.  It's okay.” Dally soothed, rubbing his back softly as the dizziness began to fade. 

When Johnny’s cries faded to little sniffles, Dally pulling back a little, holding Johnny’s face. And then, it happened again. But this time, Johnny kissed back.

Johnny’s lips were softer  than anything he’d felt before, squishing gently into his own, it was the softest, most innocent kiss Dally had ever experienced. When they stopped, they were both breathing hard.

“Dally, everybody heard that. I just know it.” Johnny said softly, his voice wavering. “And Ray will go telling everybody about the gun- Fuck, we could be killed for this!”

Dally sighed heavily. “It's going to be okay, just breath. We can figure this out.” 

“Darry can help,” Johnny whispered. “He always knows what to do.” 

Dally groaned out loud, but Johnny did have a point. Their gang had become a close family, and Dally knew that he could rely on them for not just love but protection. But this would also mean submitting to whatever penalty Darry came up with. 

“I mean it, Dally,” Johnny said, a bit firmly. “Word will spread anyway, it’ll be easier to let him know ourselves, then he can help us until this all blows over.”

Dally sighed. “I know, I know. I just- we still have a lot we need to talk about...” Dally said,

“I know. Come on, we can talk on the way.”


	3. Waiting

‘ _ Like hell we’re going to talk about it on the way _ ,’ Dally thought miserably as the two trudged back the thorny path in silence. Johnny seemed dead set on keeping his mouth right shut, and every time Dally tried to break the silence, his words were caught in his throat. Instead, he reached his bony hand up to trace the red lines on his throat from where that chain had nearly strangled him. He would be dead right now if Johnny hadn’t pulled the gun out. But at the same time, he was so horrifyingly close to shooting the kid; not that Dally would be too torn up if the asshole did die, but that would mean Johnny could get the electric chair. Dally shuddered. He didn’t even want to think about that for a second. But his heart did lurch as he noticed the thin cut on Johnny’s throat from the knife.

“Cmon, kid, we have to talk about this sometime,” Dally said in a controlled tone, but Johnny was having none of this. The smaller boy did not even turn his head to speak to him.

“You’re right. But now is not the time. Also, I’m not a goddamn kid.” Johnny said, his voice was measured and cutting.

“It is too the time! We’re perfectly alone out here and when we get back to Darry’s we  ain’t gonna get another chance like this.” Dally could not keep the desperation from his voice, he couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on with him and Johnny; especially not when he was so close to getting what he’d dreamed of from the moment he’d fallen in love with the younger boy. 

Johnny sighed and turned around to talk to Dally, stopping in his tracks right at  the space where the woods met the road. “Let me rephrase,” he huffed, “I don’t feel like talking right now,” and Dally could see the way his hand was shaking now that they were stopped, his voice wavering as he spoke, “I’ve had an awful day and I really don’t want to be angry with you.”

Dally sighed, he couldn’t really argue with that, so he just shrugged, letting his hands flop down against his sides. “Alright,” he acquiesced, “But we have to talk soon, okay?”

Johnny gave a curt nod, then turned and walked from the shadows of the forest to the pale afternoon light of the street. 

The rest of the walk home was done in silence, and Dally could feel his nervousness building as they approached the house. He took a deep breath, feeling stupid for being so afraid of what Darry’s reaction would look like. He knew he was getting whipped for this, that was no question, and though he’d never admit it; he really was scared.

Johnny was wringing his hands, rocking back and forth on his feet where they stood on the edge of the driveway, that’s when Dally realized he forgot something. “Johnny?” he asked nervously.

Johnny looked over to him, “What is it?”

“Do you still have the gun?”

Johnny shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I dropped it before we left. I’m sorry,” he added quickly.

Dally groaned internally. Great. Now just anybody could go back over there and find it. He’d paid good money to get somebody else to steal it for him. Oh well, that was before he’d put his old ways behind him (sort of). Not much he could do with it anyways. 

“Nothing left to do but face the music.” Johnny pulled him from his thoughts. “Just... let me do the talking okay, and don’t try to get out of anything, that’ll make it worse.” For somebody who got tanned the least, Johnny seemed to know what he was talking about.

Dally reluctantly agreed. “Sure.  Let's get this over with.” then they made their way up the driveway and opened the door.

It was pretty much a regular afternoon, which eased both of their tensions a bit. Soda and Steve were wrestling on the ground, Pony was doing homework and Darry was reading a book while listening to the radio.

When Darry saw them, he put his book down, “I just sent Two-bit out looking for you, good to see you’re back in one piece.” he said, not seeming too tense, just relieved.

Dally’s stomach turned. Had word gotten out so soon? Usually, it took at least a day or two. “What do you mean?” he asked, knowing he’d probably get a ‘you know damn well what I mean’.

“There's a storm tonight. I want y’all to stay here so I can keep an eye on you.” Dally almost audibly sighed in relief. Typical of Darry to want everybody in one place when he was anxious, he really was just like his mother. 

“Oh, good ole Two-bit, me and Johnny could head out to get him,” Dally suggested, anything to stall the inevitable, but then Johnny spoke up.

“That’s going to have to wait. Darry, there's something we really need to talk about. Do you mind if we uh, we go somewhere with a bit of privacy?” Had it been anyone else, Dally would have punched them to keep them quiet. 

Darry’s expression went grim, and Dally knew he probably knew to an extent what kind of talk they were going to be having just from Johnny’s nervous expression. “Let's talk, then.” He said, standing up.

Sodapop and Steve stopped what they were doing, almost instinctually wanting to stand up for Johnny. It made Dally a little jealous, but he understood. “Hey, Superman, don’t go hard on him,” Sodapop said, looking concerned.

Darry rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know what they did.”

Steve piped up. “It's not like they killed anybody,” causing Dally to cringe. 

Ponyboy looked up from his homework. “With Dally, you never know,” he said quietly, shrinking when Darry shot him a stern look.

“Don’t be rude, Pony, he’s your brother just like the rest of them.” 

“Sorry, Dal.” Pony murmured quietly, and Dally couldn’t bring himself to be angry at that joke. He knew he had quite the reputation and couldn’t blame the younger kid. 

“Whatever happened, we’ll take care of it,” Darry said gently, putting a hand on Dally and Johnny’s shoulders to guide them to his bedroom. Dally tried to get his heart to stop pounding like a drum; he just wanted this over. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Johnny let himself be guided to sit on the bed next to Dally, wringing his hands nervously. Darry closing the door behind them before walking to stand in front of both boys. “So,” the older man said, looking at the two who sat shamefully before him. “I’m sure you have some explaining to do.”

Johnny looked up from where he was messing with his short fingernails. “It's a uh... A long story,” he began. “Promise you won’t get... too mad.”

Darry furrowed his eyebrows. “Go on, tell me,” he said in a hard voice, the tone alone making Dally wrap a protective arm around Johnny.

“You didn’t promise,” Dally said, his voice upsettingly tight.

“I know,” Darry replied. “Tell me.”

So, there was nothing left to do but give the full explanation, every word making the knot in Johnny’s stomach tighter. He couldn’t bring himself to look Darry in the eyes as he spoke, he didn’t want to see how disappointed his brother was in the both of them, he’d probably burst into tears.  So, he went on, telling Darry everything that they’d done wrong while leaving out the part about the kiss.

Darry’s heavy sigh felt like a punch in the gut, the older man leaning forward and pinching the bridge of his once-broken nose. “ Well, that explains the cuts and bruises. Are you both okay?” he asked.

Johnny half expected him to be hollering by now, but Darry rarely shouted if you were compliant; and so far, nobody had made any attempt to avoid punishment. “I-I’m fine. It's just a little cut on the neck when he grabbed me...” He looked to Dally to give his report.

Dally straightened up, not showing any signs of weakness. “ It's just all the usual shit that comes with a fight, nothing special.” He said, and Johnny couldn’t help but roll his eyes. The sound of Dally’s petrified scream when he was a few seconds away from being strangled was still stuck replaying in Johnny’s head; it made him shudder. 

“You both better lay low here for a while,” Darry said softly, still not quite looking angry. “We’ll take care of it, don’t worry,  ain’t nobody’s  gonna die.”

Johnny gave an appreciative little smile, and Dally just tensed even more, knowing what was going to come next.

Darry looked like he’d aged ten years. “Alright. God knows I should take my Dad’s strap to the both of you...”

“You aren’t strapping Johnny!” Dally growled suddenly and predictably. Johnny appreciated the care but did wish he wouldn’t try to get him out of trouble like this.

“I don’t plan on it,” Darry replied flatly. “You, on the other hand, have more than earned a lashing.” 

Now it was Johnny’s turn to protest. “We got into this mess together, I think we should be punished for it together.” He said quietly, hearing Dally scoff in frustration beside him.

Darry leaned forward to put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “I’m not giving you the strap. I promised I never would,” he said softly.

“I understand that,” Johnny replied “It doesn’t have to be a strap,” he said quietly. If Dally had been the one to say this, he likely would have been accused of trying to get out of a punishment. But Darry knew from the shame in Johnny’s voice that he knew he needed this. 

Darry gave a thoughtful hum, “If you really feel you’ll learn best by taking this together, then that's just what we’ll do. As for what I’ll use, I think a switch will do the job just fine.”

Dally groaned out loud at that. Johnny knew he’s been switched good by Darry before. While Johnny’s never had a switch taken to him before, he can imagine just how painful it must be.

“Yessir,” Johnny said quietly, picking at the skin  in between his fingernails as he tried not to think about it too much.

“Well.  Let's get this done. The storm won’t roll in for a while now. Dal, you know how a switch is supposed to look, you show Johnny what to do. Get two just in case one-”

“You can’t punish Johnny yet.” Dally suddenly exclaimed, causing Johnny to groan quietly.

“Dally, I’m FINE.” Johnny hissed out in frustration, just wanting this to be over. 

“No, no you’re not. Your dad spanked you just a few hours ago, you’re not about to be switched on top of that,  it's not fair you should have to hurt more than me!”

Darry stopped both of them. “Wait just a minute, Johnny your father did  _ what?” _

Johnny’s face went red as a tomato. “It's not a big deal,” he mumbled. “It was only as bad as some of the tannings you’ve given me, no bruises or cuts this time.” When Johnny was punished at home, it was usually incredibly cruel. He still remembers crying into a pillow on Darry’s bed while the older man bandaged a cut on his lower thigh, the slice weeping blood from where the belt had hit him too hard. That night; part of his lower back, backside, and thighs all the way down to his knees were black and blue, spattered with various cuts. That was easily the worst punishment his father had ever given him. His only saving grace being that his  _ real _ family took excellent care of him, and he was able to sleep through most of the recovery, snuggled warm with whoever decided they wanted some time with him.

“Honey,” Darry said softly, “You could have come straight here, it doesn’t matter how mild the beating might have seemed, it still hurt you in more ways than one. You shouldn’t have to go without comfort,” He squeezed Johnny’s shoulder kindly, the unexpected warmth making Johnny tear up a little bit.

“Alright, if you don’t  mind I’m going to need to see the damage,” Darry said, Johnny knew this was coming so he stood up, still a little sniffly.

“Dally, don’t look,” Johnny said, a little snippily. His older friend had already thought it would be funny to undress him in a barn in the middle of the woods. Wait fuck, Ray had been stalking them, right? Did he see? Oh god if Ray saw Johnny was going to have to find that gun and ACTUALLY kill him. And then Dally.

Darry pulled Johnny to lean against his strong arm, using the other arm to pull his pants and underwear down just enough to get an idea of just how red his bottom was. Johnny was flushed with embarrassment, so he  buried his face into Darry’s arm, small hands clutching at the man’s sleeve.

“Oh yeah, he got you good, buddy,” Darry said sympathetically, righting Johnny’s clothes and pulling the younger boy into a hug, which Johnny gladly returned. “Yeah, we’ll need to wait until that’s healed. Should only take a day or two. But Johnny, I need you to tell me when you’ve healed enough, we still need to get this done.” 

Johnny nodded. “Yessir. I want it over with too.”


End file.
